ETTRICK — Just three days after being ranked No. 15 in the WBCA/USA Today Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, Virginia State University's women's basketball team took to the Daniel Gymnasium court for a match-up against Elizabeth City State University.

While Virginia State entered the game riding a seven-game home winning-streak, Elizabeth City entered having lost nine out of their last 11 games. However, once the ball was tipped, the records were immediately thrown out as the two teams combined for a thrilling match-up.

With the two teams dead-locked at 33-33 after the first 20 minutes, the Vikings' Jasmine Nixon scored the first basket of the second-half, giving Elizabeth City their first lead of the game. The basket would give way to a see-saw affair featuring nine lead changes in all before the Lady Trojans captured a 79-71 victory in overtime.

However, the win did not come without a few blemishes for a Virginia State (16-1) squad which continues to roll during a truly historic season. While the Lady Trojans currently have their highest ranking in program history and boast the No. 1 rated defense in the league, they did not close the game the way they should.

After facing a four-point deficit with at the 17:19 mark of the second half, 41-37, the Lady Trojans fought back with a 3-pointer by Pryncess Tate-Dublin and two clutch free throws by Lamesha Deal. The five-point swing put Virginia State ahead by one and seemingly headed for another easy victory.

Yet, with 2:43 remaining on the clock, Virginia State's advantage began to disintegrate. Holding a five-point lead, 66-61, the Lady Trojans' defense allowed the Vikings to go on a quick 5-to-2 spurt to pull within two points. However, even with the spurt, Virginia State had an opportunity to seal the win.

With 36 seconds remaining, Virginia State's Cana Marriot fired a base-line jump-shot which did not even find iron before it was corralled by Elizabeth City's DaShera Boone.

Boone immediately raced up the court, going coast-to-coast before nailing a jump-shot of her own with 19 seconds left to force the overtime period.

And in the overtime period, Virginia State took complete control.

Junior Tiffanie Adair opened the scoring with a made free throw before Boone countered with a jump-shot to give the Vikings their last lead of the game, 70-69. The Trojans answered the Boone jumper with a basket by Deal and plenty of free throws down the stretch, finishing the game on a 9-to-1 run.

Ryan Lazo/Hopewell News/News-Patriot

Virginia State's had two players record double-doubles on the afternoon with Adair scoring a game-high 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds and Deal scoring 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting while hauling in 10 rebounds.

They were joined in double-figures by Jessica Lyons who finished with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Marriot finished with 7 points and Tate-Dublin had 6 points as Virginia State shot 42.9 percent from the field.

The Vikings had four players score in double-figures led by Boone's 18 points, Jadda Jeffries and Tyche' Mozie's 12 points and Jasmine Boyd's 10 points in a 47.5 percent shooting effort.

The win is the Lady Trojans' eighth-straight home victory and fifth win in a row.

Virginia State's next game is a home contest against Bowie State University Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m. Bowie State is 7-10 on the year having lost seven of their last eight games.